Ethnic Minorities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many full-time equivalent teaching posts have been approved for each local education authority in (i) 1993–94 and (ii) 1994–95 for funding under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 in(a) maintained schools, (b) voluntary-aided schools and (c) central teams which provide a service throughout the authority;

(2) how many full-time equivalent teaching posts have been approved for each parliamentary constituency in (i) 1993–94 and (ii) 1994–95 for funding under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 in (a) maintained schools and (b) voluntary-aided schools;

(3) if he will list, for each constituency, the schools with teacher posts approved for funding under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 in (i) 1993–94 and (ii) 1994–95.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 21 March,Official Report, columns 34–36, to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn), in which I set out, in relation to each relevant local education authority, numbers of posts designated to be filled by qualified teachers, approved for funding under section 11.

Comprehensive information is not available centrally about the current allocation of approved posts to individual schools within local education authority projects and such information could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. As to the position with regard to 1994–95, an encouraging proportion of authorities have notified us of their intentions to make good the shortfall arising from the reduction in section 11 funding. However, many authorities have yet to inform us of their plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent teaching posts have been approved for each grant-maintained school for funding under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 for(a) 1993–94 and (b) 1994–95; and what was the total grant in each case under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966.

Comprehensive information is not available centrally about the current allocation of posts approved for funding under section 11 to grant maintained schools. The available information is shown in the table.

Grant-maintained schools are eligible to apply for funding direct. In some cases, schools which were already grant maintained applied successfully at the time of the last applications round and have had their own projects since 1 April 1992. Information in relation to those is shown in the table.

Other schools, which have since opted for grant-maintained status, were originally covered under local education authority projects. Local agreement is often reached for such schools to remain within those projects, notwithstanding their change of status. In such instances, section 11 grant continues to be paid to the local authority, and it is the responsibility of the school to make the contribution to the total cost which the authority would otherwise have made.

Alternatively, a school may leave the local education authority project and apply to set up its own. In such cases, the number and type of posts approved are agreed between
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the school and the local education authority as being the allocation appropriately made to the school by the local education authority immediately before. Section 11 grant is then paid to the school at a level consistent with contemporary practice in relation to the payment of grant

Approved posts

Grant

Name

LEA

1993–94

1994–95

1993–94

1994–95

Ashcroft

Bedfordshire

0.5

0.5

3,444

3,549

*Ash Green

Warwickshire

0.4

0.4

5,637

6,217

Avon Valley

Warwickshire

1.0

1.0

11,669

11,750

Beechview

Buckinghamshire

0.6

0.6

6,963

6,995

Bridgewater and Brindley Hall

Buckinghamshire

0.75

0.75

13,230

13,111

Burntwood

Wandsworth

4.0

4.0

57,024

55,687

Claremone

Harrow

1.0

1.0

13,519

13,629

Copland

Brent

2.5

2.5

37,853

33,860

Deacons

Cambridgeshire

4.5

4.5

33,315

24,823

Francis Bacon

Hertfordshire

4.0

4.0

23,107

24,645

Graveney

Wandsworth

5.0

5.0

71,186

69,720

Greenford

Ealing

3.4

3.4

46,819

39,461

Greenwood Dale

Nottinghamshire

2.0

2.0

25,783

26,111

Hall Green

Birmingham

0.85

0.85

9,326

9,320

*Hamilton

Buckinghamshire

3.0

3.0

40,946

41,410

*Hendon

Barnet

2.0

2.0

26,645

28,041

Holly Hall

Dudley

0.4

0.4

1,186**

3,778

Holy Trinity

Kent

0.87

0.87

10,308

10,819

London Oratory

Hammersmith and Fulham

3.1

3.1

39,595

38,025

Myton

Warwickshire

1.45

1.45

20,254

19,888

Northampton Boys

Northamptonshire

1.0

1.0

16,809

13,372

Northolt

Ealing

1.2

1.2

5,802

5,379

Oldfield

Avon

0.3

0.3

3,881

3,645

Radcliffe

Buckinghamshire

1.0

1.0

10,400

10,478

Raines Foundation

Tower Hamlets

1.0

1.0

26,803

27,146

*Reading Girls

Berkshire

1.0

1.0

12,410

12,733

Robert Napier

Kent

0.5

0.5

1,239

1,220

Small Heath

Birmingham

4.6

4.6

50,057

50,626

Stratford

Newham

3.0

3.0

53,106

54,277

Wood End

Ealing

1.3

1.3

8,968

6,815

*Wrenn

Northamptonshire

2.0

2.0

27,188

27,351

Notes:

1. Figures in relation to posts are in full-time equivalent terms.

2. The figures for Deacons include I instructor post and 1 bilingual assistant post; and for Small Heath, 1 home/school liaison assistant post. All others are designated teacher posts.

3. As to 1994–95, figures relate to posts eligible for funding front 1 April 1994. It is a matter for each school to decide, within its overall financial provision, how it intends to proceed in the light of reductions in section 11 funding. Schools marked* have indicated that they propose to make no substantive change in 1994–95. In other cases, responses are awaited from schools.

4. At present, section 11 grant is paid quarterly in arrears on the basis of actual expenditure incurred by the grant recipient. The 1993–94 grant expenditure figures relate to grant paid in respect of the school's own expenditure in the three quarters from 1 April to 31 December 1993.

5. In the case marked**, the expenditure is from 1 September 1993, the operative date for the school's project.

6. With effect from 1994–95, section 11 grant will be paid on the basis of an annual budget allocation. The figures for 1994–95 show the budget allocation which has been notified to each school in relation to the school's expenditure in 1994–95.

7. The table does not include schools whose new project proposals are in the process of consideration, or who have not yet been notified of a budget allocation figure for 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent his Department will retain responsibility for funding teaching posts under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 after the creation of the single regeneration budget from April 1995; what will be the proportion of the funding thus retained; and what proportion will be transferred to the single regeneration budget.

Around 55 per cent. of the total provision in relation to 1994–95 for teaching and other posts approved for funding under section 11 will form part of the single regeneration budget when it comes into operation on 1 April 1994. The Home Office will continue to administer the balance of funding remaining under section 11 in respect of approved teacher and other posts.